Because It Happened
by SerenityWritesSlash
Summary: AU. Seto Kaiba has never, and will never believe in reencarnations. Joey Wheeler, on the other hand, claims to remember everything and everyone from past lives. Maybe, just maybe, he can convince Kaiba that they have some old memories; which involves making some new ones. Puppyshipping.


The shot glass before him was dangerously close to overflowing. Kaiba gave it his best glare, then carefully raised it to his lips, trying his best not to spill. It was often he was found here, at this bar. No one really spoke to him, but he liked going there. It was better than work, and at home he was in constant struggle. Mokuba and Noah were probably fast asleep, Kaiba took comfort in knowing that. The drink in his glass vanished, swishing down his throat in a bittersweet river. With a sigh, Kaiba propped his chin on his palm, watching his glasses slide down his nose. This was probably the most eventful thing that ever happened to him in the last few hours. He was just about to order another drink, when a soft tap on his shoulder interupted him.

"Um, Seto Kaiba?"

He turned around, adjusting his lenses so he could see. A mop of blond hair, puppy-dog brown eyes, and a youthful, handsome face met him. "Can I help you?" Kaiba spoke, trying his best to mask his confusion.

The blond faltered a little bit, "Ah. So you don't remember me." Kaiba was pretty sure an accent like that would stick in his brain. Where was this guy from? Brooklyn?

"I'm sorry, I don't think I've ever met you." Kaiba said this as he tried to find some memory of the stranger. Nothing.

"Nyeh, it's okay." To his surprise, the stranger took a seat next to him. "Not many people remember me, anyway."

"Really?" Kaiba was surprised by this. The kid had a nice face; he would seem like the type who attracted people. "And why's that?"

"This may sound a bit crazy," those brown eyes looked at him with sadness, "But I remember past lives. Reencarnation, yada yada."

Kaiba's eyebrow shot up. He didn't believe in this kind of nonsense- you get one life, not a bazillion. The office worker scratched his brown hair, pondering. "It does sound crazy."

"I knew you'd say that." He laughed, "My name's Joey. Joey Wheeler."

"You already know my name," Kaiba said, taking the hand Joey had stretched out to him. "I forgot to ask how."

"It was the same in your last life," Joey said, smiling with nostalgia. "You were a CEO of a huge company, you were pretty rich."

Kaiba snorted at this, "Oh, that's bullshit."

"No, I'm being completely honest!" Joey said, grin growing wider. "You had a private jet, a bunch of maids, and you were a professional duelist for a children's card game."

"How can I be so drunk after two shots?" Kaiba wondered aloud, rolling his eyes. As much as he hated to admit it, he was intrigued by this strange, Brooklyn-accented man's stories.

Joey gave him a warmer, familiar grin. _Familiar?_ He'd met Joey two minutes ago, and this was his first time seeing that grin. "You haven't changed, Kaiba."

"Oh, yeah?" Kaiba smirked, "If I hadn't changed, I would still be rich."

"Your favorite colour is still blue, closely followed by white." Joey's smile was taking up most of his face. "You've got a little brother called Mokuba, and maybe Noah's here, too. You think I look like a dog."

Kaiba blinked, dumbfounded. "Are you a stalker?"

"No," Joey's smile deflated, but not by much. "I just remember everything, is all. Like before you were a CEO, you were an Egyptian priest."

"I'm an athiest," Kaiba said, but he couldn't help but smile at the ridiculous things this kid was saying. "How old are you, anyway?"

"Nyeh? Oh. In this life, I'm twenty." Joey said, sighing. "And since you died three years before me, you're twenty-three, right?"

Kaiba nodded, still in disbelief. "Don't take this personally, but my skeptiscm knows no bounds."

"It's alright," Joey chuckled, "I don't mean to waste your time." He stood up, giving Kaiba one last smile. "It was nice to see you again."

Watching the blond walk away, Kaiba felt almost sad. Or bored. Well, at least he had something interesting to tell Mokuba and Noah at breakfast.

...

"My bet is that he's a stalker."

Kaiba glanced up from his oatmeal and sighed at his brother, who just so happened to be giving him the famous glare. "Noah, if he was really a stalker, he would've kidnapped me by now. Either that, or taken Mokuba hostage." Kaiba said this with a laugh, almost as if he was understanding an inside joke, but he had no idea what it was.

Mokuba scowled over his colouring book, "Seto, maybe Noah has a point. If you see him again, be careful."

Noah nodded in approval of Mokuba backing him up, twirling his spoon through his half-eaten oatmeal with a sigh. "You know, Seto, we're always scolding you. Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

"I'm a failed parent," Kaiba whined, covering his face with his hands. Of course, he was being dramatic. Noah poked him with the back of his spoon.

"Oi, don't start drifting off again." The green haired sibling tutted, "I don't want you falling asleep in your oatmeal."

Sticing out his tongue at his younger brother, Kaiba finished his breakfast quickly. "Okay, ready to go?" he asked, putting on his glasses.

Mokuba stood up and stretched, whilst Noah wrapped a scarf around the youngest brother's neck. In a shuffle, the Kaiba family managed to get into the pathetic excuse of a Toyota they had, and drove towards the elementary school. Here, Kaiba dropped his younger brothers off. "Have a good day!" Kaiba called as they ran inside.

Work was boring, as usual. Kaiba wanted to create things, not get stuck in a cubicle filling in multiple choice leftovers. But this job paid the the bills, got him food, and allowed his brothers to go off for a etter life. So long as that happened, Kaiba supposed it was worth it. Even if it made him act like a complete asshole to most of the people he knew, Kaiba wasn't bitter towards his life.

As he clicked away on the mouse, he let his mind wander. What would his life be like if he were a CEO? That stalker, Joey, had said he hadn't changed. Kaiba mused on the younger man, wondering how on earth that mop of blonde hair had gotten him brain damage. The idea of living more than one life was merely a fantasy; an escape from the agonizing truth that death is part of life. Kaiba had thought about this many times before, and it all led up to the same conclusion: death is inevitable.

He left work that afternoon with a paycheck, hurrying to get to the supermarket before rush hour. After successully attaining his groceries, Kaiba stocked his fridge. He still had an hour of free time before he had to pick up his brothers, so he sat down and tried to read.

Again, the thought of the enigma that was Joey Wheeler crossed his mind. Kaiba felt a small emptiness at the idea of never seeing this man again. He hadn't gotten two paragraph into his book when his eyes drooped shut.

"You are such a bastard, you know that?"

His eyes were regarding him harshly, almost as if they were uncertain. His body was shaking with fury. What a pathetic mutt. Kaiba laughed, summoning his next monster and wiping out the mutt's life points. Those brown eyes glared at him, and then Joey (or was it Jounochi?) was charging, grabbing the collar of Kaiba's shirt and tugging him way too close. He wanted to punch him, and yet, he wanted to kiss him.

With a jolt, Kaiba was awake once more. He checked his watch, revealing he'd only been asleep for two minutes. Well that was weird. Kaiba never had dreams like that, for they mostly consisted of random things, such as dragons. Had he been dreaming of that crazy guy at the bar? Holy shit, he was losing it. Shaking his head, Kaiba returned his focus to his book, though it was a fruitless attempt.

Sighing, he decided it would be best if he distracted himself with something else. Though, for some reason he could not fathom, his mind still wandered to Joey; that questionable enigma who had gotten into his head. Before he really understood why, Kaiba was on his laptop googling 'reencarnation'. All the theories on the internet were complete bullshit, but it killed the time he had.

When he went to pick Noah and Mokuba up at school, he found a teacher standing by them. Grimacing, Kaiba got out of the car. Either Noah had gotten in trouble, or Mokuba had gotten bullied. "Mister Kaiba," the teacher, Mrs. Rivers or something, smiled at him. "I'm horribly sorry to trouble you, but Noah has had another outburst today."

"They were bullying Mokuba, Seto!" Noah immediately jumped in, his voice desperate. "They were throwing food at him!"

Kaiba turned to the youngest brother, "Is this true?"

Mokuba flung his arms around Kaiba's waist, nodding frantically. "He didn't mean to hurt them, bro! I swear that he was only trying to help."

Mrs. Rivers made a face, her wrinkled lips curved into a hideous scowl. "By 'not trying to hurt them', picking up the vacant chair at his side and swinging it around at them was certainly an interesting way to do it."

Kaiba almost cracked a smile at that, but instead, he adjusted his glasses and stared the woman down. "Are you trying to tell me that the one's getting punished are these two?"

"Yes," she replied, looking a bit unnerved.

"I see," Kaiba muttered, making sure that his glare was as menacing as possible. "So the little punks who have been screwing with my brothers are getting away with a stern warning? Your system is pretty flawed, lady."

Mrs. Rivers looked like she wanted to reply, but Kaiba's glare made her shrink away. He turned on his heel, Noah right beside him, and Mokuba still holding him. One could say their exit would have looked badass, had the conversation been more intriguing.

"Won't they get pissed at you?" Noah asked, though he was smirking.

"Probably. But you know what? Screw them." Kaiba opened the car doors, letting his sibling wrestle for shotgun. Eventually, he told them to both go in the backseat.

"Seto, did you see the stalker guy again?" Mokuba poked his head over the corner of his seat.

"No," Kaiba said, half lying. Technically, he had projected an image of the guy in his mind, which didn't really count as seeing.

"If you do, confront him." Noah said, briskly.

Rolling his eyes, Kaiba flicked on the radio; having his bothers sing to the top 20 was better than answering all their questions, especially ones about that guy.

...

It had been three weeks, and Kaiba was beginning to wonder if he'd ever see Joey again. He'd gone to his local bar, but he was never there. Maybe it was all an illusion, after all. Deciding that maybe this was for the better, Kaiba went to get himself a drink with low expectations. He was just getting out of his car when he saw him, the lanky, blond, awkward young man who was leaning against a wall, almost laying down completely.

"Uh... Joey?" Kaiba had to make sure, cautiously stepping forward.

"Kaiba!" Joey squeaked, snapping his head up with wide eyes. Well, one of them was wide, the other, on the other hand, was bruised over. Kaiba studied his face, noticing the scab above his lip, the dry blood under his nose, and dirt stained on his cheek.

"What the hell happened to you?" Kaiba asked, deciding it was safe to step closer. "Did you get mugged or something?"

"Nah," Joey chuckled, grinning just as ridiculously as he had been the first time they met. "Got into a fight with some asshole when I was leaving the train station."

"Train station?" Kaiba echoed, confused.

"Nyeh, I don't live around here." Joey was still smiling, "I came to visit to see if you remembered me or not. I'm guessing you only remember this life, right?"

Kaiba couldn't help but feel sorry for him, "I'm afriad so."

Joey closed his one eye, bowing his head a little. "Uh-huh, I thought so." He looked so tired, and the inuries looked at least a day old. Kaiba had no idea why, but he knew that Joey wasn't a stalker. A gut feeling, perhaps. Nevertheless, he knew.

"Oh, for the love of..." Kaiba let out a sigh, then ofered his arm. "Here, stop standing there like a pathetic kicked puppy."

At that last word, Joey's eye shot open in an instant. "You're serious?" He stared at Kaiba's arm, clearly hesitant. "I mean, you barely know me. At least, you don't remember knowing me, y'anno?"

Kaiba glared at him through his lenses, "Do you want help or not?"

"Yes, please."

And that was how he ended up bringing Joey to his doorstep, much to dismay of Noah. The green haired child started protesting vehemently, whispering harshly to his brother. "What if he's insane? A maniac? He says he remembers stuff that never happened."

"And you worship something you can't see," Kaiba cut in, unsure of why he was even arguing about this. Then he realised: he was defending Joey. "Besides, this is my house. I'll bring in who I want."

Mokuba, unlike his brother, was happy to help Joey out. With his eagerness to hear tales his past life, Mokuba cleaned up a few cuts for the blond in exchange. And even though Noah was still displeased with Joey's company, he listened in.

"So, you got kidnapped, like, a lot!" Joey smiled, happy to share his memories. "And you were really helpful for Kaiba, even though he wasn't exactly the best at expressing gratitude. But, yeah, you guys were a good team. Oh, yeah! We were all Japanese, too. Aint that weird? Nyeh, that reminds of that one time..."

By the end of the night, the Kaiba family had spent hours listening to him speak. The oldest especially; for sometimes, Kaiba could swear he actually _did_ remember doing things like that. But it was impossible, and he knew it. He shooed his brothers up to bed, even though Noah was a bit insistent that leaving Kaiba alone with someone so delusional was a bad idea. Eventually, he did get upstairs.

"I should thank you for the hospitality, nyeh?" Joey awkwardly stood from his seat on the couch, rubbing the back of his neck. "I really feel like I forced you to listen to me the entire time. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Kaiba mumbled, adjusting his glasses. "It was pretty interesting."

Joey gave him a small smile, "I forgot to mention that we weren't really friends, back then."

Kaiba had already guessed that, "Oh? Why not?"

"I kinda wanted to beat you in a duel, y'anno? But you were always better, and a bit of a dick, so I just let it become a grudge." Joey looked particularly guilty at the moment, "But, we were friends back in Egypt. You were my master, but we were still close."

"You were an Egyptian slave?" Kaiba blinked, surprised. "You can remember that, too?"

Joey nodded, biting his lip in embarrassment. Standing there, awkwardly smile and nawing on his lip while he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, Joey Wheeler looked cute. Kaiba was trying to shake that thought away, but it was there. "I guess I gotta go." Joey murmured, finally meeting Kaiba's eyes. "Thanks, again." He walked by the tall brunet, not saying another word. Waiting until the door shut, Kaiba let out a huff.

"Dammit."

He all but flung the door opened, taken aback when he saw Joey leaning on the wall of his house. An idiot could tell that he was crying. "You can stay on the couch, if you don't have anywhere to go." Kaiba said, quietly. Joey gave him the saddest smile he'd ever seen, and then nodded.

"Thank you," he said, breathlessly.

Kaiba felt his chest stinging, almost as if he'd been hit with something. He didn't say another word as the blond promptly followed him inside, instead he headed straight upstairs, trying his best to push the pain away. As he closed the door to his bedroom, leaning against it with a sigh, he realised that Joey was the first friend he'd made in years.

A friend; Kaiba laughed aloud at the idea, hitting his head off the back of the door.

...

Part of him wanted to completely ignore Joey Wheeler, and the other part wanted nothing more than to talk with him. With these mixed feelings, Kaiba saw Joey off at the train station, giving him his phone number and email for reasons unknown. They texted endlessly, after that, which gave Kaiba something to do when his work was finished.

Joey was still in university, working his butt off to become a philosophy major. Kaiba wasn't surprised he took this field, with the things that came out of his mouth. When they spoke on the phone, the topics they had made no sense. Kaiba remembered talking two whole hours about pizza with his friend, who eagerly spoke back. In the end, their odd relationship had become something to look forward to.

"You know, when you were a CEO, you used to be such an asshole." Joey said one day, during one of the many phonecalls. "But, you're exactly the same, but kinda different... I don't know how to say it. Nyeh! Just ignore me."

Kaiba smiled into his cellphone reciever, "I wasn't really listening, anyway." That was a lie.

"You're such a jerk," Joey was laughing, probably grinning that ridiculous grin.

"And you're a buffoon." Kaiba retorted, still smiling.

It was often that they lamented on how much they disagreed on things, and they threw insults at each other swiftly, almost as if they were playing tennis. Kaiba had eased into the friendship so quickly, he almost began to think that maybe they were reencarnations. Of course, thoughts like that never lasted too long.

Even Noah had warmed up to Joey, though he was hung up on the idea of the guy being a stalker. And so, life went on with no complications. Before Kaiba knew it, it was almost summer. "Seto," Noah had smacked him with a rolled up newspaper, one morning. "Mom's coming back. She wants me and Mokuba to go visit her, is that all right?"

Kaiba blinked, "So, she's back from Italy?" When he was around eleven years old, he was adopted into the Kaiba family with his infant brother, and at the time, Noah had been a toddler. As much as he had tried, Kaiba could never see the woman who took him in as his mother, for she was away on buisness far too much. And the father was, to put it bluntly, the worst man Kaiba had ever met. It had been a huge relief when he'd been shot in the street.

"Yeah, apparently she'll be home for a long while." Noah seemed so happy, it was hard not to smile at him. "She wants to see us really badly."

"You do know she has legal custody over you, right?" Kaiba smirked, turning his attention back to the book he had been reading. "It's not my place to keep her from you. Go ahead and let Mokuba know."

Noah clapped his hands together, "You're way too nice, recently, Seto!"

Damn, Joey really had been rubbing off on him. With a sigh, Kaiba put down his book and picked up his phone, dialing Noah's mother's number. After a long discussion, and some polite chit-chat, they settled on letting the boys stay with her over the summer. The only downside, of course, was that Kaiba would be completely alone in the house.

The next couple weeks went by in a blur, and petty soon, it was the last day of school. Noah and Mokuba insisted that they do something fun together before going away.

"Take 'em to an amusement park," was Joey's suggestion when Kaiba phoned him for help.

"An amusement park?" Kaiba echoed, "Why?"

"Well, Mokuba likes them. And Noah's a fan of a few rides. You like them, too, of course." Joey said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Just don't go on rides that spin; you'll hate it."

Kaiba rolled his eyes, "I've never even been on one of those kiddie things they have outside of shopping centres!"

"But that's only in this life!" Joey chimed, the faintest hint of a laugh in his voice. With another sigh, a farewell, and a smile, Kaiba hung up. He decided to take his friend's word on this one. But he was going on a spinning ride to prove that he'd be fine.

And so, the following day he found himself at the nearest theme park, watching his brothers run ahead with excitement. After five hours of walking, eating junk food, and running away from clowns, the Kaiba family was walking back through the parking lot.

"That was so much fun!" Mokuba giggled, taking another huge bite of his cotton-candy. "Did you see my face in that last picture? It was priceless!"

Noah was struggling to hold the giant stuffed chicken he'd won, "Yes, Mokuba. We could see the drool whipping behind your head."

Kaiba said nothing, for he was still feeling a bit queasy from when he'd tried a ride called 'the keleidoscope'. Needless to say, Joey had been right about the spinning rides. As the family filed into the car, Mokuba sighed. "I'm going to miss you, Seto."

"Me, too." Noah added, stuffing the prize into the passengers seat with a huff.

"Don't worry, you'll be home before you know it." Kaiba smiled at them, ruffling their hair. Mokuba let out an affectionate giggle, whereas Noah protested and tried to pry his hand away. "I'm going to miss you guys, too." Kaiba admitted, turning back to the wheel.

...

The invitation to visit him had come out completely by accident, and yet, Kaiba was glad that it had happened. During one of the many chats he had with Joey, he might've suggested that he was lonely after living in the empty house for two weeks, and Joey might've offered to come over. Somehow, he had found himself waiting for the delusional blond at the train station. When Joey finally arrived, Kaiba was fighting the urge to hug him.

"Hey!" Joey greeted, running at Kaiba whilst he dragged his suitcase behind him.

"Hey, yourself." Kaiba smiled, settling on giving Joey an affectionate brofist. "How was the trip? I hope you didn't eat that crap they serve on there."

"Nyeh, I actually saved my appetite." Joey beamed, wiping the sweat from his brow. "I sat next to a really nice girl, though. Got her number, too."

Kaiba chose to ignore the smallest spark of jealously, "Did you know _her_ in a past life?"

"Actually, no." Joey chuckled, scratching the back of his head and biting his lip. "But she's pretty cute, and I figured I like to have a conversation with her again."

As Joey blabbered on, Kaiba couldn't help but stare at him. He was rather adorable, with his big, brown eyes, and that god damned lip biting habit. Kaiba was sure girls would flock to him, and his puppy-like behaviour was only helping it. Talking to him on the phone had been easier, because, for a reason Kaiba could't fathom, he was incredibly attracted to his best friend. "-Hey, are you listening?"

Drawn from his thoughts, Kaiba blinked. "Huh?"

Joey laughed, "It's okay, I wasn't saying anything too interesting, anyway."

"I'm sorry," Kaiba said, halfheartedly. "Please, go on."

Joey then proceeded to entertain him with a story that involved him at age ten, running around a train compartment looking for a dragon. It was quite amusing, especially the way Kaiba could picture him. Every time Joey used his hands to make little actions that went with the story, Kaiba's heart grew warmer. Even when he was driving, he snuck glances at the blond in an attempt to catch him doing that. Joey was like a child, but at the same time, he was a very intellegent young man. Kaiba's emotions would forever be mixed. When they reached the house, Joey eagerly hauled his suitcase up the stairs. Kaiba realised that Joey would have also been alone all summer had he not invited him, and suddenly he felt relieved. At least they had each other, even if it wasn't much.

"So, what're we gonna do first?" Joey asked, jumping on his feet like a child. "We can play monopoly! Ooh, better yet, we can play poker!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes, "The first thing we're doing is getting your room ready."

Joey's eagerness faded, and he sighed. "Do I have to?"

"What are you, six?" Kaiba scoffed, albeit smiling. "Come on, let's get it over with."

After setting up the room, Joey all but forced Kaiba into playing poker. He was delighted every single time he lost, and shocked the rare times he won. Kaiba asked him why, and that lead onto a long rant about something called 'Duel Monsters', and how Kaiba used to be a reigning champion and Joey stumbled his way into the big leagues. Joey also spoke foundly of a man named Yugi Muto, who used to be his best friend.

"In this life, he's a manga artist!" Joey exclaimed, expecting Kaiba to react.

"Huh," Kaiba's mind swirled with the image of a tri-colour-haired man, hunched over a desk and focused on his work. The weird thing was that Joey never told him what Yugi looked like, but he could see everything so clearly.

"Funny thing- Yami is his editor!" Joey ran his fingers through his hair, grinning. "I guess those two really were destined to be together."

"And what about you and me?" Kaiba asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do you think you cheated destiny by tracking me down?"

Joey gave him a look, the kind a mother would give her child if they had said a bad word. "Screw destiny, I'm just glad I found you." Joey eventually grumbled, looking at his feet.

...

Never trust Joey Wheeler with a hose; a lesson Kaiba learned the hard way. All he had wanted to do was water the pathetic daisies growing in his backyard, but Joey seemed to think that the hose was a sprinkler. And so, without so much as asking the brunet, Joey stole the hose. "Surrender or die!" he yelled, triumphantly pointing the hose in Kaiba's direction.

"Don't you dare-!" Kaiba started to warn him, but it was a battle already lost. Joey put his two fingertips at the end of the house, water spewing in every which way, hitting Kaiba square in the face. "Oh, that's it!"

It had been almost an entire month that he had put up with the occasional bothering of the blond, but Joey had gone too far. Kaiba leapt for the hose, surprised when the smaller man sprayed his feet, causing him to slip. Joey's howling laughter made it difficult to be mad at him, so Kaiba let out a dark, frightening chuckle.

"Uh... I don't like that look in your eyes..." Joey started to back up, raising his makeshift weapon. "Stay back, I'm warning you!"

Getting to his feet, the older of the two grinned wickedly. Without warning, Kaiba grabbed the hose, drenching Joey with no remorse. And that was only the beginning, for Joey was reaching back for the hose with determination. After a long, tiresome battle, they called truce. "We're going to drag water all over the carpet," Kaiba sighed, wringing out his bangs.

Joey shook his head, water flying out of his hair. "What?" Joey asked, seeing Kaiba's blue eyes staring at him with amusement.

"Mutt," Kaiba tittered, "You're just like a dog!"

"I ain't a-" Joey froze, breaking into another warm grin. "...mutt."

Kaiba wanted to ignore how cute he looked, sitting on the damp grass, his wet shirt clinging to his skin, and that smile. Joey was too much for him, too adorable. Kaiba got to his feet, holding out his hand. "Here, let's go get cleaned up."

"Okay," Joey murmured, grabbing hold of his hand. They walked inside, carefully setting their shoes on the doorstep to dry. Once they got into the washroom, Kaiba noticed how many specks were in his vision when he flipped the lightswitch.

"My glasses are soaked," he sighed, carefully taking them off and setting them on the counter. Joey, who was now sort of fuzzy looking, titled his head.

"How far can you see without those?"

"Not very far."

Joey stepped forward, but he was still kind of blobbish. "Can you see me now?"

"Not really."

Another step. "Now?"

"I can sort of see your nose."

Two steps. "Now?"

"Almost."

Joey was close, very close, barely three inches away. He took another step, and Kaiba could faintly make out the differences between his eyes and skin. "One more step."

Obliging, Joey brought himself dangerously near. There was an inch seperating them, but Kaiba could see him. His brown eyes, leveled almost with his blue ones, and his smile. Kaiba's fingers twitched, unintentionally reaching up for Joey's cheek. At first, Joey looked like he was going to flinch. "You've got some water," Kaiba lied, smoothly. Relaxing, Joey allowed him to brush his fingers along the edges of his face.

Why Kaiba leaned forward and suddenly kissed him was unknown to both of them, but it happened. Joey's lips immediately reacted, all but trapping Kaiba's own. The blond's arms wrapt around Kaiba's neck, and Kaiba's own kept soft hold on Joey's face. Before he knew it, his hands slithered down Joey's neck and shoulders, trailing all the way to his hips. Kaiba pressed him against the nearby wall, Joey didn't seem to mind at all.

Their tongues eventually fought for the other's mouth, bumping awkwardly into one and other, and occasionally hitting teeth. Kaiba could've cared less, he was all too focused with the damp, gorgeous man in his arms.

When they broke apart, sweating and gasping for air, Kaiba had no idea what to say. "Uh..."

Joey smiled, "I think I like this life the best."

That was enough for him, blood shooting downwards, Kaiba pulled the blond back into another strong kiss. Somehow, they stumbled over to the shower, hardly even taking their hands off one and other. Clothing was disguarded, and the warm water was turned on.

Neither of them (in this life, according to Joey) had ever had sex before, so it was all new to them. It was a strange mixture of touch, taste, and a little bit of pain. Either way, it was brilliant. Kaiba leaned against the wall, panting and watching the steam rise over the curtains. Joey, who was holding Kaiba's shoulders, brought their foreheads together.

No words were spoken, Kaiba just hoped Joey understood how much he loved him. How much he wished he remembered, and how much he wanted him. Joey seemed to understand, staring at Kaiba with those brown eyes, their lips met again. This kiss was lighter, softer, and calmer. It didn't last long, but it was a sweet shortness.

"Oh my god, I love you so much." Kaiba confessed, blushing madly.

Joey started crying, laughing, and shaking. He held onto the taller man, letting out a tiny whisper. "I love you, too."

...

"I can't believe this," Noah had his arms crossed, shaking his head. "You are the biggest morons I have ever seen."

"Noah!" Mokuba hissed, warningly. "You'll hurt their feelings!"

Joey just laughed, probably relieved on how they had taken the news. Kaiba, on the other hand, was still uneasy. What was one supposed to say when telling their brothers that they were not only gay, but had a boyfriend?

"If you had sex in my room..." Noah trailed off, threateningly.

Mokuba brought his palm to his face, "Noah!"

Joey gave Kaiba a reassuring squeeze on the shoulders, but that didn't help. Kaiba just shook his head, glaring at his siblings. "Accept it, he's moving in."

"Fine by me," Mokuba said, "So long as you're happy!"

"No sex while we're in the house, please." This was the Noah equivalent to saying that he was okay with it, which was enough for Kaiba.

Just to bug them, and embarrassing Joey was always a pleasure, he pecked his boyfriend on the lips. "Kaiba!" Joey wailed, while the brothers flinched. Kaiba gave a smug grin, saluting to Noah with sarcasm. This was his life; he had every right to do as he pleased. Even if it did upset his brothers, there was no way in hell he was losing Joey Wheeler. Not in this lifetime.


End file.
